Many types of detectors for materials of unknown chemical or biological composition have been developed. For example, arrays of biological and chemical probes having a variety of specific binding properties have been made, often referred to as biochips or labs-on-a-chip. Myriad other devices are available for identification of unknown molecules, such as organic pollutants.
There is a continuing need for devices that may be used to direct samples of an unknown material into a large number of different potential interactions with known materials so that detected interactions between the known and unknown materials may be employed to identify the unknown materials.